1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to measurement of velocity of a projectile such as a baseball.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a number of devices for measuring the velocity of a projectile as it travels between two points. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,527, issued on Sep. 13, 1988 to K. T. Park, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,761, issued on Dec. 5, 1978 to K. L. Oehler, both discuss measurement of the velocity of a projectile as it travels between two points.
Although both the Parks and the Oehler devices measure velocity very accurately, neither device can be used to measure the velocity of a baseball as it is pitched during a game. Further, both devices are expensive to manufacture and require bulky apparatus.
In professional baseball, the velocity of pitched balls is measured during games by training a radar gun at the ball after it has been released by the pitcher. While this provides an accurate measurement of the ball's velocity, it also requires relatively bulky apparatus, when calibration devices are considered, and it too is expensive. Furthermore, the radar gun must be calibrated each day (sometimes more than once in a day) in order to function accurately.
In amateur baseball and softball, the velocity of pitched balls is often calculated by hand, using a stopwatch to time the ball's flight and measuring the distance traveled. This approach is slow and tedious, as well as being less accurate than the devices described above. Great accuracy, however, is not required in amateur baseball and softball, as it is in professional baseball.
There is therefore a need for a device which will measure the velocity of a pitched ball without the use of bulky equipment and without the need for laborious hand calculations. There is also a need for such a device which is inexpensive to manufacture.